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tina999_gw

Kevin, and other knowledgeable - tell me about 2 cm thick granite

tina999
16 years ago

I am asking this question about granite thickness that nobody seems to talk about. I am trying to find a thinner granite slab - the 2 cm thickness ( for the "looks" reason, my future very contemporary kitchen asks for a thinner one).

Are there issues with the thinner slabs that i should know about? Do those 2 cm slabs even exist out there? Are they supposed to be cheaper or not?

Comments (5)

  • muscat
    16 years ago

    I'm definitely only knowledgeable from my own limited experience with this one kitchen, but I can share what I know:

    2cm granite is FAR more common in my area than 3cm. I went to about 5-6 granite yards, looked at probably hundreds of slabs, and can only remember 3-4 that were 3cm. I have been told that it is a regional thing- I'm in No California.

    So here, 2cm is put on 5/8- 3/4 inch ply, and it is standard. Mine has a laminated edge so that it is 4cm on the edges, but I see no reason that that lamination is anything other than cosmetic, since most 3cm granite is not laminated. Others will be more helpful in that area. I have not seen 2cm NOT laminated, but I have a hard time believing that the edge needs extra strength unless you have a large amount of overhang.

    Yes, in my area 2cm is cheaper than 3cm. It is less rock, and easier to handle and move. When I asked in a granite yard about 2cm vs 3cm they said 2cm was "better" for those reasons, but since that is probably 95% of what they sell, go figure.

    HTH!

  • susan4664
    16 years ago

    I'm not an expert but I recently had new countertops installed and have seen this explained so many times on this forum. It in fact, has been talked about quite a bit.

    2 cm granite is more commonly used and costs less than 3 cm for the slab itself, but the price difference becomes negligible because the 2 cm requires more labor when fabricating.

    When 2 cm is installed it needs to go onto a plywood sub top for support. An additional strip of granite is then applied around the edge to hide the sub top, and make the edge appear thicker. It becomes 4 cm with the extra strip added. There is a seam where the strip is glued but typically it is not noticeable, inless the fabricator does a poor job.

    3 cm is thicker and stronger so it does not require a sub-top nor the extra strip around the edge. There is no seam and the edge is 3 cm. Some people do not like the thicker look of the granite on the inside rim of an undermount sink.

    There are also difference supporting requirements for the 2 cm vs 3 cm overhang, such as for a bar area.

    I went with the 3 cm because I happened to fall in love with a particular slab. I am glad because I did not want the extra seam around the edge.

    O.K., Kevin, how'd I do?

  • tina999
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks, Susan.
    I live in MD, and we visited only two yards so far but saw ONLY ONE 2cm slab.
    My kitchen actually comes with a sort of sub top. It has a decorative side, and that's why we got it. In the showroom they had a really thin glass countertop sitting on top of this subtop. This subtop is already an inch high, and that's why i do not want to add another inch and a half of granite.

  • muscat
    16 years ago

    Susan makes an interesting point about the plywood sub-top underneath 2cm granite needing to be hidden by laminating the granite edge. I dont know what big cabinet companies do, but I am sure that a custom cabinet maker could prevent this necessity if you really wanted the thinner profile of 2cm granite. My cabinets had 3/4" ply on top, but it was done inside/behind the frames, so that there was nothing that needed to be hidden. Even with frameless cabinets, I think it could be done with some sort of trim or something......harder to visualize.

  • pbrisjar
    16 years ago

    For us, we went with the 2 cm granite because we were installing on top of pre-existing cabinets. Everything we read and the fabricators that we talked to (and we talked to several) said that the 2 cm was better for is as we wouldn't have to worry so much about leveling issues. If the cabinets were brand-new and perfectly level, we would have gone for the 3 cm.